Americans collectively owe more than $12.6 trillion in mortgage debt, according to the personal finance website WalletHub’s recently released report on the “States Adding the Most Mortgage Debt,” which highlighted where homeowners are facing the greatest challenges.

WalletHub examined proprietary data from Q3 2024 to Q4 2024 to compare mortgage debt trends across all 50 states.

The states with the largest increases (in ranking order) were Vermont, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Hawaii, Arkansas, California, Maine, Washington and Colorado.

The states with the smallest increases relating to mortgage debt were Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, West Virginia and Kansas. 

“Mortgage interest rates are the highest they’ve been in around a decade, and home prices have seen a meteoric rise in recent years as well, WalletHub Editor John Kiernan said in the report. “Even small increases in home prices can lead to thousands of dollars in extra mortgage interest costs for homeowners, so it’s important to choose wisely when deciding where and when to buy a house.

“Vermont residents added the most mortgage debt from Q3 2024 to Q4 2024, at least in percentage terms, with the average balance rising by 2.63 percent to $208,730. No other state had an increase above 2 percent, and 23 states even saw decreases during Q4,” Kiernan added.